The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a control system and more specifically to maintaining the health of a control system.
Control systems are used in process industries to control at least one process. Such processes can be continuous or discrete. Process industries may include, but are not limited to, power plants, process plants such as refineries, food and beverage industries and other industries where a process is required to be controlled. Control systems are designed to operate power plants and process plants continuously without the need for periodic shutdowns. Therefore managing the system health of a control system becomes vital, not only to keep the system running, but also to ensure that the corresponding plant keeps running safely and generates revenue. For example, in the case of a power plant running on gas turbines, a control system enables proper start-up, running and shut-down of a gas turbine. The control system also maintains the efficiency, optimization and safety of a gas turbine. The power plant may or may not use a gas turbine and may additionally use steam turbines, wind turbine, solar panels etc. If the control system functions improperly it may affect productivity, output and, in a worst-case scenario, a catastrophic accident may happen. Proper functioning of a control system is therefore of prime importance for proper functioning of a corresponding process plant.